Crime and Punishment

Been trying to figure out this messy optics problem for 3 days now, finally I think I just broke the code, so it shouldn't be too hard from now on. Just to take a break thought of writing about the last book I read, "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

The book has been a revolution in literature at the time. The story develops around a young and talented university student in St. Petersburg (in former USSR) who, finding himself in extreme financial trouble, is pushed into desperate means of finding money. I.e. committing the crime of murdering a money lender to rob her off her money.

The crime leads to a life long battle with his conscience, which seems to be a much cruel punishment than if he had gone to prison. The story deals with the psychology of the criminal, at times regretting what he did and yet again justifying his actions, by some lame excuse.

The beauty of the story lies in the way the author unfolds the events. It makes the reader feel like he/she is part of the story. It is said that during the time the book was first published, readers often found themselves depressed for days after reading it.

It is also ironic that Dosteyevsky wrote the book during a time he himself was in financial ruin, this together with the experiences he had during the time he had been in prison, may have contributed to the success of the book.